Effects of Cd 1-x Zn x S alloy composition and post-deposition air anneal on ultra-thin CdTe solar cells produced by MOCVD

Clayton, Andrew, Baker, Mark, Babar, Shumalia, Grilli, R., Gibson, P. N., Kartopu, Giray, Lamb, David, Barrioz, Vincent and Irvine, Stuart (2017) Effects of Cd 1-x Zn x S alloy composition and post-deposition air anneal on ultra-thin CdTe solar cells produced by MOCVD. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 192. pp. 244-252. ISSN 0254-0584

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Abstract

Ultra-thin CdTe:As/Cd1-xZnxS photovoltaic solar cells with an absorber thickness of 0.5 μm were deposited by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition on indium tin oxide coated boro-aluminosilicate substrates. The Zn precursor concentration was varied to compensate for Zn leaching effects after CdCl2 activation treatment. Analysis of the solar cell composition and structure by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiling and X-ray diffraction showed that higher concentrations of Zn in the Cd1-xZnxS window layer resulted in suppression of S diffusion across the CdTe/Cd1-xZnxS interface after CdCl2 activation treatment. Excessive Zn content in the Cd1-xZnxS alloy preserved the spectral response in the blue region of the solar spectrum, but increased series resistance for the solar cells. A modest increase in the Zn content of the Cd1-xZnxS alloy together with a post-deposition air anneal resulted in an improved blue response and an enhanced open circuit voltage and fill factor. This device yielded a mean efficiency of 8.3% over 8 cells (0.25 cm2 cell area) and best cell efficiency of 8.8%.

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